18th Jukly 2000 Mont Olivetti Maggiori, Montalcino
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Montalcino San Quirico d'Orcia,
Italy
Friday, June 27, 2003
Tuesday 18th July 2000
We set out at around 9.00 on another glorious day for the monestary of Monte Olivetti Maggiori. This is in the middle of the "Crete". When we first tried to access it via Chiusure several weeks ago, we ended in giving up. We had the same problem again. The map shows the road passing through the town and there aren't any signposts to help. We did the exact same thing this time. Drove into the hilltop town, followed the main road/street, which circles the top of the village, and ended up back outside the town on the road we had entered on. What if we forget the town, and take that narrow non descript road leading off to the right? The one without any signpost! I knew that.
Only a kilometre or so later, we came across the monestary complex. It is bigger than the town. Hidden in behind a forest of Cypres Pines, and other trees that we still haven't learnt to identify. Also on top of a small hill, there is a substantial car park with a caffe/restaurant and a hostel. There is a minimum stay of 10 days at the hostel. Through the gatehouse, a road and running parallel, a path, leads several hundred metres down through the forest (which is realy a garden). At the end of the path, to the left is the abbey. It is a two story structure built around a courtyard, and we figured probably off limits. The monks here have taken a vow of silence. To the right is Blessed Bernardo's grotto, the chapel built on the site of Tolomei's original home. He was the monk who founded the monestary. Further down the path is the church and Chiostro Grande.
Builders were working around the entrance to the church, so we entered through the Chiostro Grande. Entry is free, and from the foyer, we walked straight into the cloister. This is basically a non-descript central rectangular courtyard, probably 30 metres by 20 metres, surrounded by a glassed in loggia/verandah. All four walls are painted with frescoes depicting the life of St Dominic. As a monk raked and cleaned the courtyard, we strolled around the loggia. This was one of the most moving of all the religious art we have seen in Italy. As with the art in Assisi, I can't help but feel that there is something special about the art dedicated to the memory of those special "saints". I't isn't so much the "religious" element, nor the quality of the painting, in the sense of how it fits into the evolution of art (perspective and realism)
The village perched on the edge. Absolutely fantastic frescoes fronting the central courtyardcloister. Life of St Benedict. magnificent carved wooden choir stalls.-everyday life.
San Quirico d'Orcia. Again fantastic carving of chor stalls
Stone carvng round doors and fascade.
Montalcino- great sight across the valley. High on mountain. great views from top. Pretty town
Bought ceramics
Taverna Grappolano Blu.
By this stage, we were pretty determined that we would have a swim. We drove on to Bagni San Filippo. Our map showed it as a thermal springs, and we had seen too many photographs of people bathing in natural pools with the water cascading in gentle waterfalls down the slopes. This just had to be one of these. We drove into the town, which is in the middle of a very
lush forest. There were many cars parked on the side ot the road, and when we saw a path leading off into what appeared to be a large park, we parked and walked on in. Beautiful, tranquil park, with a timber bridge over a small creek, but no sign of a spa or pool. There were sulphur stains on one of the slopes, but no signs, and little promise that exploring would prove fruitful. We gave up and returned to the car. Driving through and out of town didn't reveal anything other than entrances to private hotles etc. No signs indicating pools. After the event, on reading the entry in the Cadogan guide, we find the entry "..may go into the books as the world's smallest thermal spa-a telephone booth etc". Also notes that it is named after a hermit monk who hid out here in the middle ages, when he heard there was a movement to elect him Pope.
We were getting rather frustrated, and decided that we should go to Lake Tresimino for a swim. If you can't rely upon the guide books to find a rustic spa in southern Tuscany, head for Lake Trasimino, it shouldn't have dried up yet. We headed back up the S2 to San Quirico, and then across country via Chianciano Terme. This was a fantastic illustration of the dramatic geographic changes in a very short distance, that is Tuscany. To the immediate east of San Quirico, the rolling hills are golden with the just harvested wheat fields, and great rolls of hay dotting the hillsides and abandoned decaying houses on the crests. Withing ten killometres, we are driving through heavily wooded mountains, on narrow winding roads. At Chianciano Terme, is one of the most attractive spa towns in Italy. Kind of like Montecatini Terme, in terms of spa hotels etc, but peched on the top of the mountain that drops away to the plain on which Lake Tresimino sits. We didn't kid ourselves that we would find anyting that wouldn't cost an arm or a leg to swim in, so we remained focused on the beach at Castiglioni del Lago.
There were very few people at the beach. Had a nice quiet swim, and then we changed and drove up to Cortona. It was only about twenty minutes or so, and again I found a parking spot outside the gates to the town. We were in the piazza in time for the Olympia Brass Band of New Orleans. In fact, we walked to one of the gates at the top of the town, and walked back to the piazza with the band playing all the way. It this age of amplified music, I had forgotten how close you need to be, to realy hear the music, so participating in the street parade was a rare experience. And it was more than just the music. The band leader was an elderly, tall, skinny guy, with a deeply lined face, strutting under his decorated black umbrella. Joining in the parade, were several locals. They both apeared to be retarded, and while the young guy was just in awe as he followed them around, the other was the extrovert, and joined them in strutting and when they performed in the piazza, he got in among them and "bopped" along.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy performed at 7.00 in the main piazza. Enjoyed them even more than last night. The crowd seemed to be larger than the previous night. With a likely lengthy break between their finishing and Augusto Enriquez y su Mambo band beginnning, we decided to return to our car and read and nap for a while. Big mistake. Every second person who was looking for a parking spot, asked if we were leaving. We headed back up into town. A youth orchestra was performin in the piazza, so we climbed the stairs at the back, to a street that runs off up to the top of the town. Here, a restaurant has set up a few tables across the street from the main in door restaurant, under a roofed balcony that looks down on the piazza, and across to the staircase of the town hall. We sat on the wall to watch. Ches insisted on sitting with her legs hanging down into the piazza side, which scared the hell out of me. So too did a huge American guy, who sat straddling the wall. A group of young
american tourists regularly brought him cans of softdrink and slabs of pizza, and he responded to the music in typically american style.The jazz band was followed by an orchestra. We never did discover if they were european or american. Appeared to be kids in their early twenties, and we assumed were perhaps doing a course and giving concerts. Then again, they did the comedy routine of supposedly getting someone from the audience to act as guest conductor, and another with a musician at a time leaving the orchestra, till there was only one left playing and the rest were scattered in the audience. Good fun.
The main concert was only fifteen minutes late in starting. Stephanie and Clarissa turned up. They had had dinner at Osteria del Teatro, where they knew the owners. The crowd was huge, but just as bad as at any other. Lots of chatting and then a new phenomenom, the couple that decide to tango in a packed crowd, with total disregard for the feet and bodies of those just trying to listen to the music. What a performance. The story goes that Augusto Enriquez was a med student in Cuba. He also had a reputationas a singer. They put together a concert, and sold 40,000 tickets. He's given up medicine for a full time career as a singer. Whatever the story,he gives a sensational concert. He has an enormous range, and performeswith a level of energy and enthusiasm we have never seen before. Not onlydoes he have a sensational voice, but he performs with such physicalenergy, that he dominates your attention throughout. We left for home at11.30, and a much easier trip across country by staying on the main roads.Longer but less stressful. As we drove up the hill to Monti Benichi, a huge owl took off from the middle of the road.
